


set my hands on fire

by thequeenofokay



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 19:52:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3423497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequeenofokay/pseuds/thequeenofokay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’s been to his share of crash sites, and he knows, instinctively, that there’s something different about this one. Something <em>wrong</em>.</p><p>Amongst the debris, he sees something move. A girl. She’s sprawled in the wreckage, and he can see her chest rising and falling slowly as she breathes.</p><p>// grant + kara are sent to pick up something that fell from the sky.</p><p>(some<em>one</em> that fell from the sky.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	set my hands on fire

**Author's Note:**

> \+ i'm so sorry like the sole purpose of this is to hurt em (grantwvrd on tumblr) okay.
> 
> \+ also i wanted an excuse to slip jemma/raina in somewhere.
> 
> \+ title from "angel on fire" by anthony and the johnsons.

Raina calls him up in the middle of the night. He wasn’t sleeping anyway, which is probably why she called him instead of Kara. (His partner is prone to biting, swearing, and – once – stabbing, if woken suddenly.)

‘We have something we need you to pick up,’ she says. ‘It can’t wait until morning.’

There’s something in her voice that he can’t place. There’s barely contained excitement, and something more sinister.

But that’s just Raina.

He’s already up and pulling on a shirt, hunting around in the dark for the rest of his clothes and his gun. ‘Do you have coordinates?’ he asks. ‘I’m not hunting the desert for days again.’

She reels them off and he notes them down.

‘We’ll get it to you as soon we can,’ he says.

‘Grant,’ she says, just before he hangs up. ‘This one is… different.’

‘I can handle it,’ he says. ‘I’ve brought you back all the other weird space crap in one piece before.’

She lets out a little sigh, and he can just imagine her frowning on the other end of the line. ‘This is _big_ , Grant,’ she says. ‘I don’t think it’s like anything that’s fallen before.’

‘Are you asking me to be careful?’ he asks.

There’s silence on the other end of the line.

‘I suppose,’ Raina concedes eventually. ‘I’ll see you in a few hours.’

It’s only a five minute drive to Kara’s apartment – something they planned for nights like this – and he doesn’t bother to call ahead. He rings the buzzer and she lets him in still in her pyjamas, gun in one hand.

‘We got a job?’ she asks.

He nods. ‘It’s only a couple of hours drive away.’

She makes a little grunting noise, turning back into the house. She might look still mostly asleep, but he knows her better than to think she’s anything but totally alert. He makes her coffee while she dresses, because while she might be alert, she’s still irritable as hell on early morning missions.

They’re an hour down the road before she asks, ‘So what do Raina and Jemma have for us this time?’

He shakes his head. ‘Not sure. Raina was as cryptic as ever. All I know is that it’s a big one.’ He shrugs. ‘She seemed pretty excited about it.’

Kara groans. Things that get the scientists excited usually involve something dangerous.

They can tell they’re approaching the location miles before they reach it. Smoke is still billowing up, despite it being hours since Raina called them about it. Closer in, they find deep fractures in the earth and rubble thrown up from an impact. It leads up to a deep crater, and there’s ripped, broken metal lying at the centre.

He’s been to his share of crash sites, and he knows, instinctively, that there’s something different about this one. Something _wrong_.

Amongst the debris, he sees something move.

They’ve picked up living creatures for the scientists before, but it was never usually more than a strange insectoid that they have to find a way to contain, or a weird coral-like blob that Jemma _swears_ is alive.

This, though.

This is definitely different.

This is a _girl_.

She’s sprawled in the wreckage. He can see her chest rising and falling slowly as she breathes.

Beside him, he hears Kara swear under her breath. ‘That looks like a _person_ ,’ she says. She looks up at him. ‘What do we do?’

For a second, he hesitates. It’s his job to bring her in, but he knows what Raina and Jemma do to the specimens they collect. They _experiment_. He knows they won’t think anything of doing the same to this girl.

But this is his job. He can’t afford to develop a conscience. He’s managed without one for this long.

‘Same as always,’ he says. ‘Take her in.’

He trudges down into the crater, picking his way towards her. He can hear Kara behind him, and he hears her flick the safety off on her gun.

He kneels down in the dirt beside the girl. He slides a hand under her head, and quietly hopes that she isn’t going to try and kill him. He’s not really not got the energy for that today.

She’s dressed in something black and shimmering, ripped in places by her crash. Closer up, he can see a blue tint to her skin.

Her eyes flicker open and she sucks in a breath. He’s slightly thrown by them – dark and bright and he’d swear he can see galaxies.

She grips his arm. Behind him, he can sense Kara lifting her gun.

The girl doesn’t try to kill him. He helps her stand up. She sways on her feet slightly, staring at them.

She points to herself. ‘Skye,’ she croaks, and then coughs. She pats her chest gently and coughs again, attempting to clear her throat.

‘Uh,’ he says. He points to himself. ‘Grant.’ He motions towards Kara. ‘Kara.’

Skye blinks at him. She clears her throat again, and points to the ground. ‘Terre?’ she asks. ‘Erde? Earth?’

‘Is she asking… if this is Earth?’ Kara asks, looking up at him.

Skye’s eyes brighten. ‘English!’ She points between them, grinning. ‘You speak English!’

‘Yeah,’ Kara says slowly. ‘We speak English. How do _you_?’

‘I was taught,’ Skye says. ‘Top of my class. That’s why I was picked for this mission.’

‘Great,’ Grant says. ‘We need you to come with us.’

Skye nods. ‘Right,’ she says. ‘Yes. I’m sorry about the mess.’ She kicks at a hunk of metal, looking guilty. ‘My ship didn’t make the landing like it was supposed to. Your atmosphere is just a little different from my home planet – it must have thrown off the engineer’s calculations.’

‘Okay,’ he says. Because this is just… weird, and he doesn’t know what to do but agree. ‘Do you need a hand? Were you hurt in your crash?’

She waves a hand dismissively. ‘Oh, no don’t worry. I heal quick.’

‘Our car is just at the top of the crater,’ Kara says.

Skye grins, jumping with excitement. ‘A _car_! You’re taking me in one?’

‘Yeah,’ Kara says, but Skye’s already running up the edge of the crater.

She sits in the backseat on the drive back. She doesn’t shut up once, pointing out every cow they pass in a field and interrogating them on the meaning of every song that plays on the radio.

Kara leans her head back against the passenger seat, rubbing her temple. ‘Coffee break,’ she decides. ‘Pull in at this gas station, Grant.’

She climbs out. ‘Skye, stay here with Grant,’ she says. ‘I can get you both coffee if you want.’

‘I’d love to try it,’ Skye says. ‘Thanks.’ She smiles, and it’s so sweet and genuine it makes him feel a little sick.

‘Can I ask you a question?’ she asks.

He turns in his seat so he can see her. ‘Sure.’

‘On Earth most people just have one partner, right?’ she says. She’s peering out the window with wide eyes, watching as someone takes their car through the car wash. ‘Is Kara your partner?’

‘What? Oh, god no,’ Grant says. ‘I mean, yes, she’s my partner, but not like _that_.’

Skye turns to him with a quizzical look, and he guesses she doesn’t understand.

‘Kara is my work partner,’ he explains, ‘and my best friend. It’s not… romantic.’

‘Ah,’ she says. She nods. ‘I think I understand.’ She frowns a little. ‘I miss my friends,’ she says. She peers out the window again, this time looking upwards. ‘They’re kind of far away, I guess.’

Kara arrives back from the gas station.

‘Were you two bonding?’ she asks, handing out coffee. She gives Grant a look that says _because you shouldn’t be_ , and he knows she’s right. He can’t afford to get attached to Skye. She’s just a package to be delivered to the scientists.

Raina and Jemma are waiting in the lab. Jemma has her arm hooked through Raina’s, and a look passes between them as Grant and Kara enter with Skye between them.

‘We’re glad you made it,’ Raina says. She’s already looking at Skye like a specimen.

Skye doesn’t seem to have noticed. She’s smiling brightly still, looking round the lab with an untempered curiosity. ‘I’m Skye,’ she tells them.

Jemma looks like she can hardly contain herself, but Raina places a hand on her shoulder to still her.

‘This is Dr Jemma Simmons,’ she says. ‘I’m Raina.’ She smiles, nothing like as genuine as Skye’s smile. ‘Why don’t Kara and I will find you somewhere to rest? You’ve had a long journey.’

Grant can hear still hear Skye speaking without pause as she leaves with Kara and Raina. Jemma’s watching too, eyes wide.

‘I can’t wait to start on her,’ she says. ‘She’s so much more than I was hoping for.’

Grant turns on her. He shouldn’t. Jemma never means badly, she never means badly, but he can imagine what she and Raina are going to do to Skye, and he hates it.

‘You can’t,’ he says. ‘She’s a girl, not an experiment.’

Jemma shakes her head. ‘Grant,’ she says. Her voice is perfectly level, perfectly calm. ‘She won’t feel any pain. I promise.’

She did not say “we won’t hurt her”.

She did not say “she will not be harmed”.

‘She’s a person,’ he insists. ‘Or... not a person, but she’s just as alive as us. She’s not just a bit of space rock for you to examine.’

‘It’s for the greater good,’ Jemma says. She’s doesn’t see how wrong this is.

‘It’s _murder_ , Jemma,’ he shouts. ‘Don’t you _see_ what you’re doing?’

The door swings open, and Raina is there. She moves between them, taking Jemma’s hand protectively, with a look in her eyes that makes him reel back.

‘Don’t you _dare_ talk to her like that.’

It takes him a moment to stop himself from backing down completely. ‘I won’t let you kill her,’ he growls out. ‘She’s not a _thing_ for you to experiment on.’

Raina shakes her head slowly. ‘We’re going to learn so much. What’s the life of one for the good of an entire race?’

‘Keep her alive then,’ he says. ‘Ask her questions. You could learn so much from her if you kept her alive.’

Raina smiles. It’s slow and dangerous. Of the two women, she has always scared him most. ‘She doesn’t have to be awake to tell us what we need to know, Grant,’ she says. ‘We can learn everything she’s ever done, everything she’s ever known without her having to say a thing.’

‘Think of it as a download,’ Jemma puts in, ‘of her entire life.’

‘You’re going to wipe her mind clean and experiment on her body,’ he says. He wants to be sick.

‘Essentially, yes,’ Jemma says.

He’s going to be sick. He has to get out of here. ‘I’m going to go see how she’s doing,’ he says.

He almost expects Raina to stop him. She doesn’t. ‘Don’t try anything,’ she says, as he leaves.

They’ve put Skye in a little bedroom. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed, carefully sipping at a glass of water, and when he enters she motions for him to sit down beside her.

‘How are you doing?’ he asks.

She shrugs. ‘You know. I’ve travelled billions of miles, crash landed, and I’m totally lost. But other than that…’ She gives him a little, playful smile. ‘I guess I’m doing pretty good.’

‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘Of course, it’s been a long day for you.’

She laughs, and he can feel his heart dying. ‘You could say that.’ She sets down the glass of water carefully on the floor. ‘I’m a little pissed about the mess my ship is in though. I’ve got no way to get back home now.’

‘We could help you,’ he says, and he almost believes it. ‘Jemma and Raina are amazing.’

‘Really?’ Skye smiles, moving to grip his arm in excitement. ‘You could take me back to the crash site. There would definitely be some stuff that could still be salvaged.’

‘Definitely,’ he says. He’s a terrible person. But maybe he can still make Jemma and Raina see sense. Skye would be so much better to them alive.

‘You’ve been so good to me,’ she says. ‘It’s so strange… I’m on a whole different _planet_. But you’ve been so kind.’ Her hand moves to his shoulder. ‘Thank you.’

She kisses him before he can reply. Slowly. Softly, just the pressure of her lips on his.

She draws back, smiling. ‘I think that’s the proper way to express affection in Earth culture,’ she says. ‘Or did I get it wrong? I always mess up kissing and the hand shake thing.’

‘Oh,’ he says. ‘No, no that was great. I mean, right. You’re doing great.’

She might be blushing. ‘Thanks,’ she says. ‘It felt…’ She ducks her head, smile widening. ‘I don’t know the word for it.’

The door to Skye’s room opens, and Jemma pokes her head in.

‘I hope I’m not interrupting,’ she says. ‘But Raina and I need to borrow Skye.’

Skye jumps up. ‘Of course!’

He stays where he is, and attempts to steady his breathing. They’re going to do it _now_. They’re going to take her away from him and he isn’t stopping them.

‘I’ll see you later,’ she says. She kisses him again, lightly.

He’s so fucked. He can’t do this. He’s only just met her, but he can’t let her go, but he isn’t stopping them.

He tells himself that it’s because Raina and Jemma are a thousand times more dangerous than he could ever be. And they know best, anyway. They know so much more than he does.

He follows slowly back down the hall.

He stands at the glass window to the laboratory as Raina and Jemma sit up their equipment. They’ve locked the door from the inside. They don’t trust him. But that’s okay – they don’t trust anyone but each other.

Skye is sleeping on the table. They’ve already hooked her up with wires and sensors, monitoring her every breath, her every thought.

‘You shouldn’t watch,’ Kara says. ‘It won’t help.’

He crosses his arms a little tighter. He wants to hit something. ‘I should have taken her away,’ he says. ‘I shouldn’t have let them do this. It’s so _wrong_.’

‘You wouldn’t have stopped them,’ she says. Her voice is a little too quiet, and it reminds him of the times he’s been there when she’s woken from nightmares.

‘I should have stopped this,’ he repeats.

He focuses on Skye’s heart monitor. In a few hours it’s going to go flat. He should have stopped this. He should have.

But Kara’s right. Kara’s always right.

He should have. He won’t.


End file.
